Prayer aid

ABSTRACT

The prayer aid is a pocketed pillow or cushion that is used t prayer aid may be disposed on the pillow&#39;s surface, in the side seams, or under a design formed on the pillow&#39;s surface. The pockets may have flaps to help conceal the pocket and to prevent the prayer card or cards from sliding out of the pocket. Both the prayer aid and the pockets on the prayer aid can take a variety of shapes and forms.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to prayer aids, and more particularly to acushion or pillow having a number of pockets to retain prayer cards andother religious articles.

2. Description of the Related Art

Most religions practice some form of prayer. Prayer is practiced in anumber of ways and for a variety of reasons. The act of praying caninvolve the use of religious and non-religious objects and be eitherovert or covert. Some people believe that their religion should not bebelittled by ostentatious displays of prayer. Such people believe thatprayer is meant to be private, out of the public's view, and that thosewho ostentatiously display the fact they are praying are insincere.

It therefore is not uncommon for people to hold a religious item oritems, or to hide the items on their person, clothing or in theirpossessions, as they pray. At times, people find the best way tocontinue to think about a prayer is by keeping the religious items in abook, by their bed, on their body or clothing, or under their pillow. Aproblem with the above-mentioned ways of keeping the religious item isthat the article could be misplaced, or it could fall out of the pagesof a book or fall off a bed.

Some religious items, such as paper items, cannot be worn on the person.Other items are fragile, and thus can be easily ruined if worn or placedin bedding. As a result, it would be advantageous to find a way to keepthe religious item out of the public's view, held in a secure place, andnear one's person without being worn on the body. A number of pillowsand dolls have been developed to display messages, mementos or to holditems having secular and non-secular significance.

U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2002/0050008, published May2, 2002, describes a tooth shaped pillow. The pillow has a hidden pocketthat is covered by a flap and a drawstring pouch that is securely heldwithin the hidden pocket. The pillow's hidden pocket or the drawstringpouch within the pocket is used to hold objects, such as baby teeth,toothpaste or loose coins. U.S. Pat. No. 5,778,468, issued to Saarela etal. on Jul. 14, 1998, describes a pillow also used as a tote. The pillowis cloud-shaped and has an elastic pocket to hold books and small toys.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,309,784, issued to Cohen on Jan. 12, 1982, describes apillow display case. One face of a conventional pillow is overlaid witha transparent plastic sheet to form a pocket. The pocket is then filledwith mementos and other objects that can be viewed from the outside.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,768,245, issued to Dutton on Sep. 6, 1988, describes apillow having a pocket for receiving a book. The book cover and pilloware coordinated to match each other so the user can associate the pillowwith the book. U.S. Pat. No. 4,853,994, issued to Ekstein on Aug. 8,1989, describes a pillow book in which cushions form the front and backcovers of the book and the pages of the book are disposed between thetwo cushions.

Dolls having storage capabilities or that are used to covey religioussentiment are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,324,201, issued to Friedel onJun. 28, 1994 (a therapeutic doll having a torso cavity for holdingicons and written messages to dissuade a person from carrying outvices); U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,149, issued to Stone on Oct. 22, 1991 (astuffed animal having one or more storage compartments in its body andappendages for storing or displaying objects); and U.S. Pat. No.6,447,363, issued to Carraway on Sep. 10, 2002 (prayer pledge doll usedto promise to pray for another).

None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or incombination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thusa prayer aid solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The prayer aid is a pocketed pillow or cushion that is used to retainand conceal prayer card(s) as one prays. The prayer aid has one orseveral pockets placed in a variety of arrangements. The pockets on theprayer aid may be disposed on the pillow's surface, in the side seams,or under a design formed on the pillow's surface. The pockets may haveflaps to help conceal the pocket and to prevent the prayer card or cardsfrom sliding out of the pocket. Both the prayer aid and the pockets onthe prayer aid can take a variety of shapes and forms.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide aprayer aid that has pockets to retain prayer cards as one prays.

It is another object of the invention to provide a prayer aid thatallows a person to keep and conceal a prayer card.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a prayer aid that issoft and comfortable and for use as a conventional pillow.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a prayer aid in theform of a pillow having pockets and prayer cards retained in the pocketsthat may be formed in various designs.

It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements andarrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive,dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.

These and other objects of the present invention will become readilyapparent upon further review of the following specification anddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a prayer aid according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the prayer aid according to the presentinvention with the flaps raised, showing insertion of prayer cards intothe pockets.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the prayer aid according to the presentinvention in which the pillow is configured to simulate a shirt.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the prayer aid according to the presentinvention in which the pillow is configured to simulate a bear paw.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistentlythroughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is a prayer aid, designated generally as 10 inFIGS. 1 and 2. The prayer aid 10 is a pocketed pillow or cushion. Theprayer aid 10 is constructed as a conventional pillow 12 or cushionhaving an outer case or cover 14 enclosing cushioning material. Thepillow 12 is filled with batting or other conventional filler orcushioning material (not shown) The prayer aid 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2is generally rectangular and has a cross design 40 disposed on the cover14, as well as a plurality of pockets 20 and 42. Prayer aid 10 can bemade in shapes other than a rectangle, such as a triangle, a square, acircle, cylindrical etc. Surface pockets 20 are four-sided, with threesides attached to the cover 14 and the fourth side being unattached inorder to form the opening 21 into the pocket.

The pockets 20 preferably have a flap 22 to cover the opening 21 of thepocket 20. As shown in FIG. 2, flap 22 is a generally rectangular flapwith one full side and at least a portion of two other sides unattachedto the cover 14 so that the flap 22 can be lifted up and folded back toexpose the opening 21 of the pocket 20. Alternatively, flap 22 may havethree full sides of its four sides attached to the cover 14 to make it afixed flap instead of the hinged flap shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Flap 22helps to retain objects placed in the pockets 20, such as a singleprayer card 30 or a plurality of prayer cards 35. Normally prayercard(s) 30, 35 are smooth and as a result they slide past each other andcan potentially slide out of the pockets 20.

A second type of pocket 42 is concealed underneath the arm of the crossdesign 40. Design 40 is preferably sewn to the surface of the prayer aid10. Pocket 42 has three sides attached to the cover 14 and a fourth sidewhich is not attached to the cover in order to define the pocket opening43. Pocket 42 is placed so that the open side is formed by the materialdefining the cross design 40. The remaining portion of pocket 42 ispouch-like, and is disposed between cross 40 and cover 14.

Pockets 20 and 42 are used to conceal and retain a prayer card 30 or adeck of prayer cards 35. The prayer card(s) 30, 35 are largely Christianproducts sold commercially by the numerous Christian basedorganizations, such as Navigator Press (a Colorado Springs, Colo. basedcompany) and Bridge Building Images, Inc. (based in Burlington, Vt.).Typically, a prayer card 30 displays a religious picture on one side ofthe card and a prayer on the opposite side of the card 30. The cards 30,35 are used as a medium for individuals, both adult and children, toprovide structured methods of praying. The prayer cards 35 help anindividual improve their praying skills by guiding them to pray onparticular topics and motivating individuals to pray effectively.

The prayer aid 10 is described for use with Christian religions, but itcan also be used for other religions as well. One specific example ofprayer cards designed for children are called T.H.U.M.B. prayer cards.The T.H.U.M.B. acronym stands for Tribal, Hindu, Unreligious, Muslim,and Buddhist. Each card has prayers written about each identified groupand encourages the child to pray for the group cited on the cards. Theprayer aid 10 preferably holds and conceals a prayer card 30. However,the prayer aid 10 should not be limited to retain a prayer card 30 or adeck of prayer cards 35 alone. The pockets 20 and 42 can hold otherreligious items as well, such as a rosary, a crucifix, a bible, etc., ornon-religious items of sentimental value, such as children's drawing orpictures of family or friends.

The prayer aid 10 provides a creative way to pray by allowing the userto hold and conceal a prayer card 30 in a comfortable object that alsohas everyday use. An added benefit of using prayer aid 10 is to permitthe user to hold a prayer card 30 in a secure place out of the public'sview. The prayer aid 10 allows the owner to pray without disclosing thefact that they are praying or that they are holding a prayer card 30.Also, the prayer aid 10 permits the user to keep a prayer card 30 intheir possession without being worn on their clothing or even on theirbody. By possessing the prayer aid 10 the user is able to meditate onpraying and/or keep the spirit of the loved one as represented in thepicture or writing near them. The prayer aid 10 is designed to be heldbut it can also be used for sleeping and kneeling purposes. Often thepractice of sleeping or resting with one's head against the pillow 12containing one or more prayer cards 30 and 35 provides the user with acomforting feeling that is akin to praying in one's sleep.

FIG. 3 shows a prayer aid 100 in which the pillow 102 is configured tosimulate a shirt. More particularly, the pillow 102 may be configured toresemble an occupational shirt that can be made to represent differentoccupations, such as a military camouflage shirt, a hospital worker'sscrubs, a construction worker's shirt, etc. Pillow 102 has a number ofpockets disposed on its surface and in its seams. Pillow 102 has anouter casing including outer pillow cover 104 and inner lining 106. Twopockets 120 are disposed on outer pillow cover 104. Pockets 120 arefour-sided, having three sides attached to the outer cover 104 of thepillow 102 and one side being left open to define pocket opening 121.Pocket 120 has a flap 122 disposed above pocket opening 121. Flap 122 isa hinged flap, folding down to cover pocket opening 121 and up to exposepocket opening 121. Optionally, a buttonhole 123 is formed in the centerof flap 122 to receive button 125 to secure flap 122 to pocket 120;otherwise, the flap 122 may simply lie over the pocket opening 121. Ifdesired, flaps 122 can be secured to pocket 120 by means other thanbuttons, such as hook and loop closures, snaps or zippers.

A second type of pocket is disposed attached to outer pillow cover 104,namely seam pocket 124 disposed above left breast pocket 120. Seampocket 124 has three attached sides forming a pouch and an open sidedefining pocket opening 128. The side forming pocket opening 128 isdesigned to simulate a seam extending between the shirt collar and theside of the shirt where a shirt sleeve would normally be attached.

Pillow 100 also displays a third pocket type, a layered pocket 126formed on and by the inner lining 106. The layered pocket 126 in FIG. 3.shows two pockets; one pocket 126 b lies on top of another pocket 126 a,however the layered pocket could be three or more pockets disposed ontop of each other. Layered pockets 126 a and 126 b are disposed in theneck opening of the prayer aid 100, however it can be located anywhereon the surface of the prayer aid 100. Layered pockets 126 a and 126 bare made by folding and sewing one large piece of fabric in layers, orby sewing a number of fabrics on top of each other to form layers.Layered pockets 126 a and 126 b can be made to have a flap 132 thatcovers its open side or it can be made to have no flap at all. Pockets120, 124, 126 a, 126 b all hold a prayer card 130, a deck of prayercards, pictures or drawings.

FIG. 4 shows a prayer aid 200 in which the pillow 202 is configured as abear paw. The bear paw pillow 202 has pockets 242 located underneatheach of its five pads 240 and pockets 220 a and 220 b simulating thesole of the bear paw 200. Each pocket 242 has four sides, includingthree sides attached to the pillow cover 204 and one unattached sidethat forms an opening 243 for the pocket 242 and three closed sidesforming a pouch pocket.

Sole pocket 220 a and sole pocket 220 b are formed from one pocket thathas been divided into two adjacent pockets by a seam 232. The sole ofthe bear paw could be made as one undivided pocket or into numerouspockets divided by several seams. A flap 222 covers the openings ofadjacent pockets 220 a and 220 b and forms the upper portion of the soleon the bear paw pillow 200 design. Flap 222 is fixed, in that three offour sides of the flap are secured to the prayer aid 10, 100, 200surface. Sole pocket 220 could be designed without the flap 222 andstill faithfully represent the sole design of the bear paw pillow 200.All the pockets are designed to hold a prayer card 230 or a set ofprayer cards.

The pockets disposed on and within the prayer aid 10, 100 and 200,respectively, can be surface pockets 20, 120, 220 a, 220 b or concealedpockets such as pockets 42, 126 a, 126 b, 242 as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and4, respectively or seam pocket 124 shown in FIG. 3. The pockets arepreferably opaque since they are designed to conceal the prayer card 30.The pockets are generally made of non-elastic materials such as fabric,but if desired and feasible elastic fabric may be used to construct thepockets. The pockets can be placed anywhere and in any position on theprayer aid 10, 100, 200 they can also take a number of sizes, shapes andforms. For example, the pockets can be circular, two-sided ormulti-sided.

The number of pockets disposed on the prayer aid 10, 100, 200 can rangein number from two to several. The pockets can be individual andseparate, be adjacent each other in a side by side design, or disposedon top of each other in a layered design. The pockets can also bedesigned to have a flap or not have a flap. If flaps are used they maybe hinged 22, 122 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, respectively, or fixed 222as shown in FIG. 4.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to theembodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodimentswithin the scope of the following claims.

1-17. (canceled)
 18. A prayer cushion and aid, comprising: a pillowhaving an outer casing and an inner filling; said inner filling being asoft resilient material; said outer casing having a predetermined shapefor providing an aesthetically appealing appearance; wherein said innerfilling maintaining the shape of the outer casing; an ornamental designattached to the outer casing of said pillow; a plurality of pocketsdisposed in said outer casing, each one of said plurality of pocketsdefining an opening; wherein at least one of said plurality of pocketsis defined between said ornamental design and the outer cover; wherebysaid ornamental design is aesthetically appealing, and fosters a feelingof comfort; and a plurality of prayer cards; wherein at least one prayercard disposed in at least one of said plurality of pockets.
 19. Theprayer cushion and aid according to claim 18, wherein said at least onepocket further comprises at least two pockets; wherein said two pocketsoverlap between said outer casing and said inner filling.
 20. The prayercushion and aid according to claim 18, further comprising: a flapdisposed above at least one pocket of said plurality of pockets; saidflap being movable between a closed position and an open position; andmeans for securing said flap in the closed position; wherein when insaid closed position, said flap covers the opening of said at least onepocket; and when in said open position, said flap exposes the opening ofsaid at least one pocket; whereby access to the pocket is provided andprevented by said flap.
 21. The prayer cushion and aid according toclaim 20, further comprising: a button attached to said outer casing,adjacent to the opening of said at least one pocket, and said flapincluding a buttonhole defined therein; wherein said button matinglyengages the buttonhole for securing said flap in said closed position.22. The prayer cushion and aid according to claim 18, wherein saidornamental design includes a cross, said cross is attached to said outercasing, whereby at least one pocket of said plurality of pockets isdefined between the cross and the outer casing.
 23. The prayer cushionand aid according to claim 18, said pillow further includes at least oneside edge; wherein said ornamental design of said outer casing is asimulated shirt; said simulated shirt includes at least a collar, atleast one seam extending between said collar and said at least one sideedge, and at least one breast pocket; said collar having an inner liningand defining a neck opening, said inner lining of said neck openingdefining at least one pocket of said plurality of pockets; said at leastone pocket of said plurality of pockets is disposed along said at leastone seam, and said at least one breast pocket defining at least onepocket of said plurality of pockets.
 24. The prayer cushion and aidaccording to claim 18, wherein said ornamental design simulates a bearpaw; said bear paw having patches attached to said outer casing, andconfigured to resemble a plurality of toe pads and a sole pad; whereineach of said plurality of toe pads and said sole pad defines at leastone pocket of said plurality of pockets; whereby each of said pluralityof toe pad pockets and said sole pad pocket stores said at least oneprayer card therein.